Still Life with Asparagus, Adriaen Coorte, 1697

Coorte produced mostly small, intimate still lifes. Through their simple subjects – asparagus or berries – these modest paintings stand out in stark contrast to the sumptuous still lifes that were in fashion at the time. While the aim of those works was to present a superabundance of costly objects and foodstuffs, here attention is focused on the refined rendering of a single vegetable.